Department of Health

Hospital Beds

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of bed-blocking in NHS hospitals in each of the past three years and what plans they have to invest in social care services to reduce those costs.

Lord Prior of Brampton: To date, the Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. However, the Department and NHS Improvement are working together to implement Lord Carter’s recommendations on hospital productivity. As part of this, the two organisations are working with providers to develop a richer dataset around all aspects of the patient pathway, including estimates of the cost of delayed discharge. At the same time, the Department continues to work closely with the NHS and local government to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital, share best practice, and reduce unnecessary delays. We are funding the NHS’s own plan for the future with £10 billion and we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Since April 2015, the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund has provided much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and by putting resources where the local NHS and social services think they are needed. Alongside this we are working with local areas to improve the transfer of patients back into the communities. In 2016-17, there is a new Better Care Fund requirement on local areas to develop a clear, focused action plan for managing delays, including locally agreed targets. The requirement is designed to reduce delays across the health and care system.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: Public Appointments

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the report of the independent review commissioned by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into the adequacy of the procedures and governance arrangements that the organisation applied prior to the appointment of the deputy PHSO, Mr Mick Martin, will be published; and whether the full report will be released into the public domain, together with the PHSO's findings and actions.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This is a matter for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is independent of Government, and accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

NHS: Finance

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which (1) NHS Foundation Trusts, and (2) NHS Trusts, have an accumulated surplus of (a) up to £1 million, (b) £1–5 million, (c) £5–10 million, (d) £10–20 million, (e) £20–30 million, (f) £30–50 million, and (g) over £50 million.

Lord Prior of Brampton: ‘Accumulated surplus’ has been interpreted to mean the closing balance of a trust’s retained earnings reserve at 31 March 2016. This represents the accumulated balance of annual surpluses and deficits, adjusted for any amounts offset against other reserves, such as the revaluation reserve. As this is an accumulated balance, it will differ from the annual surplus or deficit reported in the trust’s Statement of Comprehensive Income, which forms part of figures published for the provider sector by NHS Improvement. Trusts with accumulated surpluses in the bands specified are detailed in the attached document. All other trusts reported an accumulated deficit overall at 31 March 2016.



HL1690 ANNEX
(Word Document, 23.33 KB)

National Food Crime Unit

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Food Crime Unit's budget and enforcement powers are being reviewed in the light of Professor Chris Elliott's recent comments that it does not have enough authority.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In response to Professor Elliott’s 2014 review of the integrity and assurance of food supply networks, the Government established a National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) to give a focus to enforcement efforts against fraud and criminality in the food chain. The Government, in its response to the Elliott review, agreed there should be a review of progress and likely future need after two years. A copy of the Elliot review and the Government’s response is attached. The NFCU reaches the two year milestone at the end of December 2016 with the review scheduled to be completed by that time. Work has already begun on the review, which is being carried out within the Food Standards Agency’s resources under the oversight of an independent steering group, made up of three external experts representing law enforcement, consumers and industry. Among other issues the review is considering the resources and enforcement powers available to the NFCU.



Elliot Review Government Response
(PDF Document, 57.51 KB)




Elliot Review 
(PDF Document, 1.06 MB)

Horse Meat

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people were convicted of food crime following the horsemeat scandal in 2013.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The City of London Police investigation into how food products became adulterated with horsemeat led to three men being charged with fraud offences on 26 August 2016. The charges follow a complex international criminal investigation that saw the City of London Police, which is the National Policing Lead for Fraud, working in partnership with the Food Standards Agency and Crown Prosecution Service, as well as law enforcement agencies from across the United Kingdom and Europe.

National Food Crime Unit

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they will use to decide whether the National Food Crime Unit should have direct enforcement powers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The review of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) will consider the following issues: - Current and likely future reactive demand from food crime;- Current and likely future proactive opportunities to disrupt and prevent food crime;- Gaps between reactive/proactive demand and current response;- The current and future role of local authorities, the police service, other government departments/agencies and the wider food crime response landscape, including the international response and cross border collaboration post European Union exit;- Value for money of current and potential responses; and- The current form and function of the NFCU, and whether this meets current and future demand. In the first Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment, the NFCU highlighted the limitations of current intelligence and reporting, and the difficulties in estimating the scale and impact of food crime. The review will therefore take these limitations into account when considering the current and future demands and opportunities, and make reasonable judgements where evidence is incomplete or lacking.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aircraft: Training

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Ascent Flight Training charges the Ministry of Defenceto train a fast jet pilotto the point where they are ready to move on to the Operational Conversion Unit of their chosen aircraft.

Earl Howe: Ascent Flight Training charges approximately £610,000 to train each fast jet student pilot to the point where they are ready to move on to the Operational Conversion Unit stage.

Military Aircraft: Training

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Ascent Flight Training has been fined for failing to deliver an adequate service since it signed the 25-year contract with the Ministry of Defence.

Earl Howe: Up to June 2015, £308,000 was deducted from payments to Ascent Flight Training. No further deductions have been made since that time.

RFA Diligence

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of the refit to RFA Diligence in 2013 to extend its life to 2020.

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of the refit to RFA Diligence in 2015.

Earl Howe: Refits of RFA DILIGENCE were carried out from June 2012 to February 2013, and from September 2014 to February 2015, costing £17.6 million and £11 million respectively. The timings of the refits were driven by factors including the mandatory requirements to renew safety and environmental certification and the need to address equipment obsolescence issues.

RFA Diligence

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether RFA Diligence has been fully manned since her refit in 2015.

Earl Howe: Since the refit that completed in February 2015, RFA DILIGENCE has not been fully manned by Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel. In addition, personnel supplied by contractors ensure that the safety and integrity of the ship is maintained until she goes out of service in December 2016.

Armed Forces: Data Protection

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made of the risks to national security and to service personnel before publishing the names of soldiers and potential recruits online.

Earl Howe: The Armed Forces have a long history of publishing a nominal roll of serving officers, in the form of the 'The Navy List', 'The Army List' and the 'The Air Force List', generically known as the Armed Forces Lists.The Armed Forces Lists' information was first published online in 2014, following requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and as part of our overall commitment to transparency. This information was judged to be releasable, having previously been published annually for over 200 years.In September 2015, the policy on the publication of the Armed Forces Lists was reviewed and a decision was made to significantly reduce the information published, limiting this to information on officers at one star rank (Brigadier and equivalents) and above, except in respect of the Royal Navy. Details of those officers commanding a warship would continue to be published through release of a suitable version of the 'Fleet Bridge Card', which provides information on the number of RN Senior officers in command of the Fleet, the Flotillas and the warships. This decision was informed by advice on security risks. The previous Service Lists published on the Gov.uk website have now been removed.Names of soldiers at Warrant Officer rank and below and potential recruits have never been published online in the Armed Forces Lists.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the response by Navy Command Headquarters to a member of the public on 12 February, what new studies in the Ministry of Defence have superseded the statement made in that response that the operational capabilities of both Diligence, as the operational maintenance and repair ship, and Argus, as the primary casualty receiving facility with aviation training capability, are "invaluable to the support of the Royal Navy".

Earl Howe: It was stated in the letter to which the noble Lord refers that Navy Command was actively considering the out of service dates for both RFA DILIGENCE and RFA ARGUS, as well as the replacement capability. As a result of those considerations, and taking into account DILIGENCE's age and increasing obsolescence, it was concluded that retaining her in service would no longer represent good value for money to the taxpayer, and the decision was taken to retire her early.This decision does not detract from the invaluable service that DILIGENCE has provided for over 30 years.

Army

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the government of the USA has made representations to them about the manpower reductions in the British army.

Earl Howe: Whilst changes in the British Army have been discussed during regular meetings between UK and US officials, no formal representations of this nature have been made by the US Government.

Northern Ireland Office

North South Implementation Bodies

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of the Irish Republic on the future funding of the six cross-border bodies established following the Belfast Agreement of 1998, in the light of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Lord Dunlop: The Government has regular discussions with the Irish Government on a range of issues, including matters arising from the UK’s exit from the European Union. The UK’s exit from the EU does not change the firm commitment of the UK Government and the people of Northern Ireland to the settlement set out in the Belfast Agreement and its successors and to the institutions they establish.

EU Grants and Loans: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will guarantee to fund the remaining period of Peace IV in the event that the UK leaves the EU before the conclusion of that fund in 2020.

Lord Dunlop: The Government has set out that all European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) projects with signed contracts or funding agreements in place with government, and projects signed before the Autumn Statement, including the PEACE programme will be fully funded, even when these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. For qualifying projects under the PEACE programme signed after the Autumn Statement, we will work with the devolved administrations on funding arrangements to allow them to prioritise projects within their devolved responsibilities. As we make the transition to longer-term arrangements, we will ensure the devolved administrations are treated fairly and that their circumstances are taken into account.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Lord Eames: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current assessment of the significance of the possible changes in the status of the land border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland for commercial life in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop: The open border for people and businesses has served us well and no-one wants to see a return to the borders of the past. There is a strong will – within this Government, among the Northern Ireland parties and in the Irish Government – to preserve the common travel area and to ensure we get the right deal for trade in goods and services with the European Union. We must now focus on securing a deal that is in the interest of both of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Lord Eames: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the Northern Ireland Executive will be involved in any proposals to alter the status of the land border between the UK and the EU.

Lord Dunlop: As the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have made clear, in putting into effect the decision of the people of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union the Government wants to ensure that the unique interests of Northern Ireland are protected. This is particularly the case in relation to the land border with the Republic of Ireland. In so doing we will engage fully with the Northern Ireland Executive.

Cabinet Office

Profumo Inquiry

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the date most recently set for the declassification and release to the National Archives of the papers relating to Lord Denning's Report on the Profumo affair, published in 1963 (Cmnd 2152).

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The Cabinet Office has transferred the papers of Lord Denning’s Report into the Profumo Affair to the National Archives. I refer the noble Lord to their publicly-available catalogue, which states that that they will remain closed until 1 January 2048. This follows a decision by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives. This date reflects the fact that individuals mentioned in the Denning files are still alive, and Lord Denning gave assurances to those from whom he took evidence that the papers would never be published.